August 2009

In today's Curious Cook column I write about a simple hot-water treatment that slows the spoilage of berries fresh from the market.

The treatment goes back to research done at the Fresno, California station of the USDA in the 1960s. It's been widely studied since then as an option for fruit producers and distributors, but no one seems to have told consumers about it.

The term "thermotherapy" appears in Portuguese and English in a paper from Brazil about the fruits of Spondias mombin, a mango and cashew relative known by many names, including "hog plum."

ONE of summer’s great pleasures is eating berries of all kinds by the basketful. One of summer’s great frustrations is having baskets of berries go moldy overnight, or even by nightfall.

Over the years I’ve come up with various strategies for limiting my losses, but this summer I came across a surprising one, the most effective I’ve ever tried. Thermotherapy, it’s been called. A very hot fruit bath.